Jackson VELOCITY N2XF

Summary

On 3 September 2019 at about 16:00 local time, a Jackson VELOCITY registered N2XF was involved in an accident near Mack, Colorado, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

3 September 2019 at 16:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Mack, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Mack Mesa (10CO)

Coordinates

39.2681, -108.8642

Aircraft

Jackson VELOCITY

Registration

N2XF

Category

Airplane

Year built

2008

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Grand Junction → Mack

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN19LA313

Nobody was injured.

A propeller overspeed due to failure of the electronic ignition timing ring attachment screws, and a runway overrun during the subsequent forced landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot departed on a business flight in the experimental airplane in visual meteorological conditions. As the airplane was passing 15,000 ft en route to its assigned cruising altitude of 18,000 ft, the propeller started to overspeed. The pilot reduced the propeller rpm and manifold pressure but reported that he was unable to find a power setting that would allow the airplane to maintain level flight. Air traffic control provided the pilot with vectors to a nearby airport, where the pilot performed a power-off approach and waited until the landing was assured before lowering the landing gear. The airplane touched down halfway down the runway. The main landing gear was not completely extended, rendering the brakes inoperable, and during the landing roll, the airplane impacted an irrigation pipe, slid off the departure end of the runway, and came rest in a field. Postaccident examination revealed no discrepancies with the propeller or governor. The screws securing the electronic ignition timing ring to the three brackets bolted to the crankshaft at the propeller stud flange had failed, damaging the timing disk and sensors. The damage caused by the loose screws caused the engine to slow from about 2,700 rpm to about 2,550 rpm. The propeller governor then decreased the propeller pitch to bring the propeller rotation back up to speed, but once the obstruction of the ingested screws cleared and the friction was released, the low-pitch blades allowed the propeller to overspeed. Thus, the overspeed was likely caused by the propeller governor's reaction to a slight slow down of engine speed when the timing ring attachment screws backed out and damaged the electronic ignition timing sensors.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.